STEADY AS IT GOES

Baltimore CRE mortgage loans held in CMBS paper more than 90 days overdue were steady in February, according to Trepp?s latest data. Cassidy Turley's Jay Wellschlager tells us our region has been relatively stable compared with other parts of the US thanks to its proximity to DC and economic drivers such as healthcare and education (as well as federal programs like BRAC and Cyber Command). Most local special service loans have desirable locations or are high-quality assets with vacancy that need ownership able to make large cash infusions, says Jay. Baltimore has a solid institutional owner base able to ride out downturns, Jay tells us, and capital is back chasing quality assets, improving values and allowing for easier refinancing (he says a recent example is the sale of 1900 Clark Rd., which saw a 35% price increase from 2009).